Fort Lewis men’s soccer dealt a crushing blow

The blows seem to be coming at an unrelenting pace for the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team, with Sunday’s just another in what’s becoming a long list.

CSU-Pueblo took advantage some defensive miscues by the Skyhawks and sent FLC to an 0-2 weekend with a 4-0 victory.

FLC head coach Oige Kennedy was quick to lament his team’s lack of quality in the defensive third of the field.

“Poor defending, individual errors and just not enough good defending on the field,” Kennedy said.

The ThunderWolves (6-7-4, 4-5-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) went up 2-0 on halftime on goals by Jonny Sawyer and Trason Merritt. They added two more after intermission, with Sawyer picking up his second of the match and Ryan Hunter potting his fourth of the season to cap a solid afternoon against the defending national champions.

“No excuses. We just can’t defend like that. ... Too easy to open up,” Kennedy said.

The Skyhawks came into this weekend with high hopes of salvaging their NCAA Tournament chances. They sat No. 4 in the South Central Region rankings, with three spots up for grabs. But a 5-2 loss to No. 1 Regis cost them an opportunity and Aaron Kloer and Alberto Capdepon, who left with red cards. And Sunday’s loss may have been even more damaging.

“We have to be able to do one side of the ball well, and right now, we’re not able to do either,” Kennedy said.

The Skyhawks will wrap the regular season with Colorado Christian on Friday and Regis on Sunday, with both games scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Dirks Field.